


The Jagged Edge of Knowhere

by silverspidertm2



Series: Stories from Me to You [3]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Cartoon), Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Drama, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Family Fluff, Feels, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-19 14:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11315739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverspidertm2/pseuds/silverspidertm2
Summary: When Peter was three, he’d gotten separated from his mother in a grocery store. That was quite possibly more terrifying than wandering away from a very pissed-off Ravager captain on an alien world six years later. He’d never considered what those experiences had been like for his parents.





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend Vanessa Masters who let me bounce ideas and babble for way too long :D As always, please read and review.

Knowhere was as it always was; loud, boisterous, with denizens of more species than Peter had ever seen anywhere else in one place. Next to him, Victoria was clearly even more impressed. Spartax, being the capital of an empire, was certainly diverse but she’d never seen anything quite like this. Her eyes, which had steadily grown wider and wider since they’d left the Milano in the dock, kept darting from place to place, followed by a variety of ‘oooh’s and other sounds of excitement.

“Look over there!”

Peter caught her by the back of her coat just as she was about to dart off toward a booth where a large, heavy alien was selling some kind of exotic food.

“Slow down, kiddo. You really don’t want to get lost in this place,” he warned. “Here: hold my hand, please.”

“It’s so awesome!”

Peter wasn’t quite sure what ‘it’ was, but clearly, she didn’t hear him. Not for the first time since taking in the girl, he sent a silent apology to Yondu in the great beyond because Victoria was behaving almost _exactly_ the way he did the first time the Ravagers made port with him aboard the Eclector, and that place had been _nothing_ compared to Knowhere. At his other side, Gamora smirked and gave him a knowing look.

“Yeah, I know, I know. I asked for this.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

They were running personal errands while the vendors Peter had reached out to for ship parts prepared their orders. He’d still have to go to each of them to argue about the prices because for some reason even galactic heroes needed to worry about their purse strings. Rocket had argued that he could just as easily get everything himself for a fraction of the price but the rest of the crew overruled him. Peter had no doubt that he _could_ do it, but he didn’t want to get the Milano banned from Knowhere because Rocket pissed off half the vendors by stealing from them.

But the boring stuff could wait.

He, Gamora, and Victoria were on a mission. Truth be told, he still had very little clue as to what to do for Drax and his mind was currently occupied with dodging other pedestrians and keeping track of his sister. Luckily the first place on their list was Gamora’s idea. Not so luckily, as he saw when they got closer, it was a metal works shop, and aside from the usual assortment of jewelry, it was also filled to the brim with some very impressive knives, swords, spears, and other objects Peter didn’t know quite the right name for.

“I’m... not sure about this,” his glance darted between the shop and the little girl whose hand he was still holding.

Gamora all but rolled her eyes, and looked down at Victoria, “Remember to be careful in there, alright? You can look, but don’t touch anything.”

“Okay,” the girl promised, and she actually looked like she paid attention to one of them for the first time since they set foot in the makeshift port.

“How did you do that?” Peter demanded, grudgingly impressed. “Also, promise never to say that last part to me when we’re alone. I only have so much willpower.”

“Are you really flirting with me right now?”

“Yes? How am I doing?”

By that point they had entered the shop and Victoria’s attention was once again diverted from the two of them. She wasn’t particularly interested in weapons, but many of the blades had very intricate hilts that Peter suspected simply looked pretty to her without having any idea how deadly most of the things in the shop were.

“Can we get Drax that?” she pointed up on the wall, which housed some sort of blade that looked somewhat like the Klingons’ favorite weapon he’d seen on _Star Trek_.

“We’ll have to ask the expert,” he looked to Gamora, but the green skinned woman shook her head.

“Never buy a warrior a weapon without consulting him first,” Gamora said. “Drax loves the knives he has. We’re just here to get him some supplies to care for them.”

Victoria, meanwhile, had been distracted yet again, this time by the two jewelry cases at the other end of the ship by the register, and Peter let her go off stare at them while simultaneously keeping an eye out to make sure she didn’t reach for anything dangerous. Not that he didn’t adore his sister, but flirting was damn hard with a little kid around.

“You people and your knives,” he gave Gamora a look of mock disapproval then cleared his throat. “On a completely unrelated note, I was thinking… while we’re on solid ground, maybe it’s about time you and I went out. You know, for real.”

Gamora stared at him, completely uncomprehending. “We’ve been out, Peter.”

“I mean like a real date.” Was there a _reason_ he, Star-Lord, felt like a fifteen-year-old boy again? “Somewhere that involves food, music, dancing, and preferably people _not_ shooting at us. I have very good memories of that club outside the Collector’s old menagerie. Right before that knife came out.”

The one she’d pulled on him the first time he’d tried to kiss her. It really had been both an awesome and terrifying evening.

“I do remember that knife,” the woman gave a sigh, as if remembering a long-lost friend.

“Yeah, what a shame you lost it.”

“I have others,” she offered innocently.

“Oh, tempting, but despite _all_ evidence to the contrary, pain isn’t really my kink, ‘Mora.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Her expression sobered. “I’m all for… what did you call it?... date, but we _do_ have responsibilities. Drax is off somewhere, and you can’t really be thinking of leaving her,” she nodded in Victoria’s direction, “with Rocket.”

“No! I was gonna leave Groot with Rocket… and if Vicky happens to be playing with him at the time…” Gamora’s mouth curved into something that was between a smile and a smirk. “Okay, okay, I’m a terrible human being. I know.”

She patted his shoulder, “Figure it out, Star-Lord. Then we can talk ‘date’.”

Brushing past him, she headed towards the cashier to ask for the cleaning supplies they’d come for. After a moment of conversation, the other alien woman whose species he didn’t recognize nodded and disappeared into the back room. Peter trotted over, stopping behind Victoria who was still exploring the jewelry cases.

“Find something you like?” he asked. “How about that tiara over there? I bet that came from an _actual_ princess.” On Knowhere, that was very much possible. Gamora threw him a warning look with barely a glance away from the cashier. “Oh, come on. Let me buy her love while I can still afford it.”

“You _can’t_ afford it,” Gamora nodded towards the price tag. Peter winced.

 _Moot point_ , he thought, looking back towards his sister. Victoria eyed the sparkling headpiece with minimal interest then shrugged. In some respects she was very much girly, with most of her clothing choices in the range of pink or purple. In others, it was the complete opposite. She wrinkled her nose any time he called her ‘princess’.

“Here we are,” the shop owner returned carrying a box, then leaned over the counter and smiled at Victoria while Gamora inspected the contents. “Your daughter is adorable.”

Peter opened his mouth but before anything - he wasn’t sure what - could come out, Gamora simply smiled graciously and wrapped an arm around the girl.

“Thank you.” Her voice was oddly sweet _without_ that tint of pending murder. She closed the box and pushed it forward. “This looks in order. How much?”

The strangest part, he noted, was how his sister was now looking at Gamora. He imagined from Victoria’s perspective there might have been a glowing halo and spotlight over the woman’s head. The girl took a step closer to her, beaming from ear to ear. Peter felt slightly queasy.

The feeling lingered even after they exited the shop and went in search of a food market. It was just about the right time for some lunch, and Peter’s idea for the second half of Drax’s gift was to find something food-related, maybe a recipe book or some new implements and ingredients. It would also have the added benefit of finally injecting some much needed variety into the Milano’s menu. Drax enjoyed cooking, but many of his dishes were less than appealing to the rest of the crew. Since they were his wife’s recipes, no one had the heart to tell him to try something else.

They found a buffet that smelled appealing, gathered their trays, and sat down at one of the circular tables. The little girl chatted happily with Gamora, asking about the blade cleaning kit she had purchased and other interesting shops on Knowhere. Ever since the beginning of their training, Victoria was spending nearly half her time following her teacher around, and Gamora didn’t seem to mind. Her cool demeanor, which usually thawed around him, melted almost entirely around her favorite pupil.

“Peter?”

“Huh?” He looked up from his bowl of stew to see both of them looking at him. Gamora was frowning. “Sorry. Got lost in thought. Did you say something?”

“Victoria asked if she could have desert.”

“Sure.” The tray of snacks and cash register were both well within their line of sight. He pulled out a unit and handed it to the girl. “Don’t go spending it all in one place.”

She grinned and ran off. Left alone momentarily, Peter could feel Gamora’s gaze on him.

“I smell a lecture coming,” he said moodily, never taking his own eyes from Victoria as she snatched a pastry he didn’t recognize and made her way to the cashier line.

“Actually I was about to ask you what’s wrong.”

“Nothing,” he bit back, turser than intended. Knowing Gamora was unlikely to let it go, he sighed. “I don’t like it when people make assumptions.”

“About Victoria?” From his peripheral vision, he could see her frown deepen. “What do you expect people to think when they see two adults and a small child?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. Our relationships aren’t anyone’s business.”

“That’s absurd. You can’t control what other people think, especially if the assumption is neither unreasonable nor malicious.” She paused. “It isn’t about that ridiculous skin color issue you have on Terra, is it?”

“No!” He tore his gaze away from Victoria for a second to glare at Gamora. “You know me better than that.”

“Then I really don’t understand your problem.”

He didn’t either. He defied anyone to claim he didn’t love Victoria or would do anything other than make sure she grew up happy and safe. A shrink might have said that the title of her father was too closely associated with Ego, but that wasn’t it. In his mind, there was almost no connection between the Celestial and Victoria. But the universe’s apparent assumption that he _was_ her father troubled him, and Peter couldn’t even pinpoint why that was.

“Look, I…” He stopped, eyes widening suddenly as panic set in. “Where’s Vicky?”

* * *

 

Knowhere was amazing.

Anywhere Victoria turned everything was interesting and exciting and so very new. The desert she’d gotten - a pastry with whipped berry-flavored frosting - was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted in her life. Just a few feet away was a shelf of books with all kinds of foods displayed on the covers, and the girl figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at it. One in particular caught her attention because of the massive gold seal on the cover and the claim that these were the royal recipes of someone named Queen Vanessa. Victoria didn’t know who it was, but the pastries on the cover looked very appealing. Maybe they could get it for Drax, and he could make more yummy stuff for her.

Of course the bookshelf was close to another shelf of interesting stuff and so on. Distracted with the sites and preoccupied with her snack, she didn’t realize how far she’d gone from the marketplace until the last bite. Looking around for a trashcan, Victoria was suddenly very much aware that _nothing_ around her looked familiar. Somehow she’d ended up on a street, and all the alien beings that initially looked so fascinating were suddenly much bigger and scarier without Peter and Gamora there. Every time she tried to find her way back, she found herself more and more lost.

Doing her best to push the fear away, Victoria sat down on the edge of one of the sidewalks, tucking her knees to her chest, and tried to think of what to do next. Maybe she return to the ship. Surely someone was still there, and even if they weren’t, they’d come back eventually. But thinking of the way back to the docks was even harder than the marketplace. Her eyes pricked, and the girl quickly swiped a fist over them. Crying would do nothing. Tears or panic were useless in a dangerous situation, her teacher had told her on more than one occasion. In fact, Gamora had warned that they usually made things worse, but Victoria _was_ scared. Everything around her was so big and alien and all she wanted was her brother.

 _I’m lost_ , she told herself. When in doubt, Gamora had taught her to stop and take stock of her situation. _I’m lost, and I’m alone, and I don’t know the way back or where anyone else is._

_Perhaps Cosmo can be of help?_

Whatever she’d been expecting to happen, Victoria never expected anyone to reply to her thought. Tilting her head up and looking around - because most people she interacted with were so much bigger than her, looking up was usually the right instinct - she found no one. The voice that wasn’t her own cleared its throat.

 _Over here, little girl_.

It took a moment for her to understand that ‘here’ meant ‘straight ahead’, and Victoria finally found herself staring into the warm brown eyes of… a dog? Indeed, it looked like a chocolate colored canine, oddly dressed in some kind of space suit. No, that couldn’t be right. Dogs didn’t talk…

 _Eh, technically, Cosmo not talk. Communicate telepathically_. The dog raised a paw. _Shake?_

Still bewildered but apparently driven by the age-old instinct that drew children to canines nearly every time without fail, Victoria tentatively took the dog’s paw with her fingers and gave it a little shake. He stuck out his tongue, and she could practically feel the immense pleasure radiating from the creature.

_Good humanoid. How can Cosmo help little girl?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cosmo makes a descent amount of guest star appearances in the Guardians animated series :) Some of his lines in this story were taken directly from his episodes, though addressed to other characters. I toyed with the idea of Vicky not actually knowing what a dog is but I figured if Mantis, having lived on/with Ego her whole life, knew then surely Vicky would.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I totally lifted some of Cosmo’s lines from the animated series. This story turned out to be a little shorter, two chapters instead of three. I partially blame it on getting distracted with my other Guardians fic for Meredith Quill and Yondu. I have at least one more fic planned after this, one that will start out on Xandar and involve more Ravager characters. Stay tuned!

“I…” Victoria bit her lip. “I’m lost. I got separated from my family, and now I can’t find them.”

 _Then little girl is lucky, for Cosmo is Retriever._ The dog’s tail wagged enthusiastically, tongue lolling to the side. Victoria tilted her head, mirroring the gesture. _Retriever is bred of Earth dog. Eh, nevermind._ He lowered his head. _Joke not funny of Cosmo must explain._

There was something in the canine’s attempted humor that tickled at the back of Victoria’s mind, a word or phrase that maybe Peter had used once or twice but she couldn’t quite remember what it was. Sensing her concern, the dog padded close.

_Little girl is called… Victoria Quill, da?”_

She nodded, and he gave an experimental sniff of the hand that she was now using to pet his blocky head. Victoria hadn’t even realized she had started doing it. _Unfortunately, Cosmo cannot sniff others. Too many smells here._ She couldn’t argue with that. _But Cosmo can lead little girl back to docks. Maybe family return to ship?_

“Yes!” It had been her idea as well.

_Most excellent. Follow Cosmo, please._

She had no idea what it was about the canine, but Victoria, usually cautious around strangers, found herself completely at ease with the dog as they wound their way through the streets of Knowhere. Her hand remained on his collar and he matched her pace so that he wouldn’t get too far ahead. She’d been right that Cosmo wasn’t a typical dog. Aside from communicating telepathically, he also had some telekinetic abilities that he was only too happy to demonstrated on some startled passersby. Startled, but not frightened, she noticed. Not once they realized who was doing it.

 _Cosmo is head of security on Knowhere_ , the canine explained, looking particularly pleased with himself.

Victoria hummed in acknowledgment and scratched him behind an ear.

 _This isn’t so bad_ , she thought. _Peter and Gamora will be worried but they’ll find me. They have to come back to the ship sometime, and when they, do I’ll have an awesome story!_

Pleased with the prospect and with said story getting bigger and bigger in her head, she didn’t notice Cosmo slow down until the dog gently nipped at the bottom of her jacket. She wondered why they had stopped until Victoria realized that they’d reached the docks. More importantly the ship in front of them looked very familiar… but it was not the Milano.

“That’s not it,” she told Cosmo.

The dog cocked his head to the side. _Cosmo extracted ship’s image from little girl’s mind._

“It does look like ours, but it’s not,” Victoria insisted and pointed. “See? The color’s all different. It’s another… M-ship.” She remembered the designation.

 _Ah,_ Cosmo lowered his head, ears drooping. _Little girl must forgive Cosmo. Dogs… not good with colors._

In truth, Victoria was very curious about the other ship. She knew M-ships were largely used by Ravagers. She wondered what whoever was on that ship was like and if there was anyone there that Peter knew, but for once her desire to get back to the Milano overwrote her curiosity.

“It’s okay,” she patted his head. “Let’s try again.”

_Stoy…_

Victoria didn’t understand the word, but she stood still as Cosmo seemed to be listening for or sniffing out something. A second later, the ramp on the M-ship lowered and a tall, lanky man came down it to pick up a box of something on the dock. He had a relaxed way about him and whistled as he walked. Cosmo’s expression might have been the dog equivalent of a frown.

 _Cosmo read man’s mind_ , the canine even sounded puzzled in her head. _He knows your… family._

Victoria’s eyes lit up in excitement, and before the dog could stop her, she was off running towards the other M-ship. The man in the leather red Ravager coat stopped when he spotted her and put down the box.

“Well, hello there, li’l lady. Who might you be?”

“Hi!” Victoria waved. “I’m…”

But before she could explain, Cosmo was at her side again, sniffing cautiously at the stranger. Apparently satisfied that the man was not a threat, the canine sat back on his hind legs, and proceeded to project his thoughts directly into both their minds.

_Little girl is called Victoria Quill. Cosmo believes you know her… err… father? Brother? Cosmo is uncertain. The one you recall as Peter Quill._

The man’s eyes went almost comically wide as he stared at her. “Yer Pete’s what now?!”

“Sister,” she said helpfully. He was so tall, she had to crane her neck to look up at him.

The man didn’t look like he quite believed her but didn’t argue. “Where he at?”

“Somewhere in one of the food markets, I think.” Victoria waved her hand in the direction of the rest of Knowhere beyond the docks. “I got lost.”

“Alrighty,” the man still looked puzzled but relaxed and nodded in the direction of his ship. “I should be able to get in touch with him for ya. I’m Kraglin, by the way.”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened. “I know you! Peter says you flew together when he was growing up. He said you’re his friend.”

“That I am,” Kraglin grinned and held out his hand. “Come on now. Let’s see if we can get a hold of yer… brother.”

“Okay,” she smiled happily and looked at the dog. “Can Cosmo come, too?”

 _Cosmo come._ The dog’s tone made it clear that it was not a request. _Someone else on Ravager ship. Someone… not friendly._

“Oh, she ain’t gonna bite.” Kraglin waved a hand dismissively.

Victoria and Cosmo gave him puzzled looks but followed nonetheless. Inside the layout of the ship was naturally very familiar to the girl, with the exception of the colors and personal effects. She wandered around for a moment, mentally comparing everything to the Milano, until she came across a cluttered table. Cluttered, that is, except for a nook of cleared space where a metallic gold and red arrow lay. She tilted her head slightly, studying it without touching as Gamora had instructed in the shop. Kraglin came up behind her.

“That belonged to Peter’s daddy,” he said, and Victoria could hear the sadness in his voice.

“I know.” She’d guessed as much. “He really misses him.”

“I miss him, too.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Come on.”

Kraglin was nice, she decided. He gave her a glass of water and a cookie that she broke in half and shared with Cosmo and went up to the bridge to try to contact Peter. She heard him talking quietly to someone, then hopped on a bench, dangling her legs an inch away from the floor, until the sound of movement from the upper level caught her attention again. Cosmo was on his feet then, not quite growling, but alert.

A woman emerged from the ladder. At least Victoria thought it was a woman. So many pieces of her felt like they didn’t belong. She stared at her, and bottomless black eyes stared back.

“So,” the woman folded her arms, “you’re Quill’s whelp.”

“His what?” Victoria didn’t know the word.

The woman narrowed her eyes, as if studying her. “Do you know my sister?”

The girl was confused at first, but then memories of conversations between training floated to the surface. Her eyes widened in recognition and excitement. “You’re Nebula! Oh, Gamora’s told me so much about you!”

“Really.” There was an odd quality to her voice, slightly metallic and lacking in the usual range of emotions Victoria was used to seeing from the crew of the Milano. “And what are you to her?”

“Umm… she’s my teacher.” The girl mimicked a lunge with a bo staff.

 _Careful_ , Cosmo’s voice sounded in her head. _This one… damaged_.

“Shush,” Victoria admonished.

The canine shrank back a little but remained alert. Nebula’s mouth twitched slightly, like she was trying to smile but couldn’t quite remember how to. “How old are you, girl?”

“Seven.”

“Humm.”

She was still looking at her funny, studying her for reasons Victoria didn’t understand, when Kraglin came halfway down the stairs.

“Got yer big brother on the horn for ya,” he told her. “Better come up here. He ain’t too thrilled with you.”

Sure enough, Peter’s frowning face looked back at her from the view screen when she climbed the stairs to the cockpit. He exhaled a sigh of relief, but the frown didn’t go away.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded.

Victoria shook her head.

“Are you okay?”

A nod.

“Then what the _hell_ were you thinking?!”

Despite her brother’s visible anger - something she wasn’t used to seeing - Victoria giggled and looked at Kraglin. “Peter said a bad language word.”

The tall man just blinked at her, uncertain what she meant. Her brother covered his face with both hands and groaned before shifting his attention to Kraglin. “Can you watch her while I get there? Like, don’t let her off the ship. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

“Course,” Kraglin assured him.

“Thank you,” Peter glared at her again. “Stay put and do whatever Uncle Kraglin says. I’ll deal with you later, young lady.”

The connection cut out, leaving her startled. She felt her nose tingle, a sure prelude to tears she couldn’t even explain.

“He never yells at me.” She looked up at the tall man, eyes watering. “Never.”

“Oh, honey, he’s was jus’ worried ‘bout you is all,” Kraglin patted her curls sympathetically. “Want another snack?”

* * *

The only reason he wasn’t running was because in places like Knowhere that tended to attract unwanted attention that he really had neither the desire nor the time to deal with right now. Gamora was only a few steps behind him which, if Peter stopped to think about it, meant that she wasn’t nearly as freaked out by the situation as he was. He’d been going out of his mind for the last few hours, dragging them all around Knowhere in search of his sister, and even now that he logically knew she was safe, the adrenaline spike refused to dissipate.

“Peter, breath,” his companion advised. “If you show up like this, all you’re going to do is scare her.”

“Good! I sure as hell was!”

“You don’t mean that.”

Of course he didn’t. Peter stopped, blew out a breath, and ran a hand through his hair.

“You’re right,” he told her once she’d caught up with him. “I just… I honestly have no idea how to deal with something like this.”

Gamora’s lips curved slightly. “How did Yondu deal with it?”

“Poorly.” He could still remember his ears ringing from being smacked upside the head.

“Then congratulations: you’re your father’s son.”

The quip was not at all comforting. _Maybe I should… I don’t know… pick up a book on parenting or something._ It was the first time he’d even though the word ‘parent’ in respect to himself and Victoria. It didn’t feel quite as abrasive as ‘father’. After all, ‘parent’ could also be a verb and something that he apparently needed to learn how to do. Why had he thought this was going to be easy? Oh, right, because Victoria was usually much better behaved than he’d ever been as a kid.

Kraglin was the first thing he saw emerging from the other M-ship when they approached it, opposite dock from the one where they ha parked the Milano. The man had a funny look on his face, like he was trying hard not to laugh.

“How’d all this happen, again?” the tall Ravager asked after they shared a one-armed hug.

Peter sighed. “Remember a while back I asked you about Spartax?”

“Oh, yeah,” Kraglin, recalled. “An’ I told you Yondu’d gone there after Xandar. So he knew, too, huh? Sneaky bastard.”

“He was the only one who knew for a while,” Peter nodded. “Thanks again, man. I really owe you. I’ll tell you the whole story later. Preferably over stiff drinks.”

“Cool.” The other man grinned. “ ‘Cause I had a whole ‘sponsibility lecture all ready for ya. You know, on Yondu’s behalf, in case she turned out your kid after all.”

“I really wish people would stop saying that.” Peter made a face.

For the first time, Kraglin actually frowned, looked over his shoulder at Gamora for an explanation, but she simply shrugged and waved at him in the universal indicator not to bother asking. Kraglin made a helpless gesture. “Well, the mut was confused.”

“The who?”

At first, Peter wasn’t quite sure just what had come down the ramp next. Cosmo was, quite possibly, one of the stranger creatures he had ever met which was saying something. Actually, he recalled seeing the dog once in the Collector’s menagerie. How he got to be head of security on Knowhere, the Terran had no idea, but his brain was having trouble reconciling what he knew and expected of dog behavior with the barrage of words being pushed into his head by the specific canine in question. Once he realized Peter was also from Earth, Cosmo’s tail nearly doubled its wagging.

 _Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, must not be angry_ , the dog told him. _Victoria not mean to getting lost._

“I’m not angry,” Peter snapped before realizing the futility of lying to a telepath. “I’m not angry with _her_ ,” he amended, “just worried.”

The dog seemed to accept that because he let Peter pass him on his way up into the ship. Victoria stood at the top of the ramp, her slightly tightened mouth and wrinkled nose giving her a decidedly guilty look. For a long moment they just looked at each other, and then his sister was in his arms and he was scooping her up in a fierce hug.

“Don’t ever, _ever_ do that again,” he whispered into her hair. “Do you have any idea how scared I was?”

“Sorry,” she muttered, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “I’m really, _really_ sorry.”

His instinct at seeing his baby sister in distress was to comfort her, tell her that everything was alright, but Peter stopped himself. Instead he pulled back so that they were face to face and tucked stray curl behind her ear.

“I know you are,” he said seriously, “but you could’ve been really badly hurt or worse. If we’re off the ship, you _have_ to stick with one of us. And you have to understand that your actions have consequences.” She nodded. “No video games for a week.”

The girl wilted slightly but nodded. “But music?”

“Yeah,” he smiled and kissed her forehead. “You can still have music.”

* * *

Whatever her adventure had been, it must have tired her out. Victoria fell asleep in his arms almost as soon as Peter sat down to talk to Kraglin. Out of the corner of his eyes, he kept an eye out for Gamora and Nebula. He still couldn’t bring himself to completely trust the Luphomoid, but for now things seemed to be more or less quiet as the two women talked in a different corner of the ship.

“Where’d you two run into each other anyway?” He accepted a drink from Kraglin a bit awkwardly while still holding his sleeping sister.

“Here,” the other man pointed out the window, indicating the rest of Knowhere. “I had stuff for a fence, an’ she was lookin’ for some info. Didn’t tell me what.”

“Probably something about Thanos.” Peter glanced back at the two sisters again. Nebula looked turned her head just then, and he could’ve sworn she was looking at Victoria, not him. He turned back to his friend. Kraglin was also looking in the direction of the blue skinned woman in a way that made Peter want to roll his eyes. Instead he asked, “What are your next plans?”

“Well,” unconsciously, Kraglin brushed the tip of his nose, “got a call from the Nova Corps, if you can believe it. Think they meant to call Yondu, but… you know...”

“Yeah.” Peter’s eyes shifted to the Yaka arrow on the table, then back to his friend. “Actually we got that call, too…”


End file.
